Pre-Agility Class

I just finished up a pre-Agility class at a local SLC park.
It has been challenging at times. There were three dogs, all Black Lab mixes at different training levels. The most challenging one was the girl. Very enthusiastic about "live+". I taught the owner how to positively teach impulse control. We did some doggy zen and lots of rewards for doing the behaviors correctly or just sitting still. I saw a lot of improvement within a few weeks. One of the dogs was a bit more on the shy side and I introduced some motivational games with food and toys. We also did some chute training and after a few sessions he had become confident in running through.
The 3rd dog came with more advanced behaviors. He was able to sit and down stay and had an awesome recall. The dog learned a perfect straight chute at full running speed. I was also able to introduce come to hand exercises.
Near the end of the classes I would ask them to perform some basic CGC exercises. This improved some handler/dog focus.
The owners and I were happy with the results at the end of the session.
Everyone had a small taste of how demanding training for agility can be.

Puppy Class using a clicker

Teaching puppy class is one of my favorite things. I love puppies of all temperaments, sizes and breeds (or mixes). I introduce the clicker and at first the owners are very skeptical. However, when they see that within minutes their puppies are paying so much more attention they all want to learn more about it. Since I don't specifically teach a clicker class I give all my students a choice of using a clicker or only a marker word. Clicker trained dogs always come out on top of the class. It doesn't matter what any of the goals are. Training Manners, Tricks, Competition Obedience, Rally, Agility, Flyball or Freestyle; it is all trainable with a clicker. For more information on clicker training visit www.clickertraining.com

Inconsistently Inconsistent

Being consistent is very important in dog training and behavior modification. Being unpredictable will create a confused dog. Sometimes we let the dog jump up and sometimes we don't, is just a small example of a problem behavior we create.
How to create a confused dog:

• Be inconsistent all the time, but not always and don't do the same thing more then twice, only once in a while. Surprise your dog with different rules.
• Use more then one command for one behavior. Come, could also be "get here", "now", "this instant".
• Every human in the household should use a different word so the dog really learns better English, faster.
• Don't enforce rules when you are to tired and change them at your convenience.
• Every member of the household should have a different rule for the same behavior.

WW Red 'n White Dogs

Loves me......

.......Loves me not

Blame the Dog

He is stubborn. Nope, dogs are not stubborn, you just haven't figured your dog out yet. Find out what makes him want to work with and for you. And work withing the limits of your dogs capabilities. Are you asking a Basset Hound to race Flyball in 4.5 seconds?

He is doing it on purpose to make me mad. Nope, dogs don't want to get anyone mad.

He knows better. Nope, they sure don't, that is why you are there to teach him manners.

He feels guilty. Nope, dogs don't feel guilt. Really.

Dogs are none of the above. It's a trainers excuse for not knowing how to train dogs.

A dog is for life

3 year old Gabriel and Rylie

Our human nature craves companionship. Sometimes we don't like other humans as companions as much as pets. (For the sake of this blog I will always use dogs.)
Here are a few misconceptions that some people have when getting a dog

...........They can be ignored. You don't have to take them to dinner, vacation or childcare.
A few of us really care about our pets and do use a dog walker or pet sitter when we can't give them the time they deserve. Some of us have the luxury of being a stay at home dog parent.
....They don't complain when ill. Most dogs will just lie there if they have a headache or tummy ache or generally don't feel well. Some dogs get aggressive and all we do is yell at them and they will usually remove themselves from our sight. Unless we are having a training session. We get mad when the dog won't sit or down or refuse to do behaviors we are sure he has learned. Lets just bring out the prong or shock collar and cure the dog. Give the dog a break!
....They can be replaced. Jumping up, digging, barking, nipping, wanting to play all the time, (what a bother), moving, going on vacation, are just a few reasons why we can just dump Fido at the pound. When we decide to get another Fido all we have to do is ask around. There sure are many Fidos that are being replaced and need a flat to stay for a while.
....They will eat anything. Whatever is on sale, buy it and feed it to Fido. He sure isn't picky. If he is, just don't feed him anything else until he eats it out of hunger. Some dogs start going into the trash to try to get the nutrition they need. Don't bother looking at the ingredients. They must be good, because the bag says nutritious and delicious. Yum!
....They go get a little brother. Getting a Bro for your Fido is a great idea. Especially if Fido has some issues. Maybe Fido will calm down with Bro in the house. They play very nice together. Fido is even teaching Bro some of the things that is upsetting you. Yes, dogs do learn from watching other dogs.

Common Recall Training Mistakes

1. Call the dog when he doesn't want to come


2. If the dog comes, ignore him


3. Call the dog when you are going to do something unpleasant to him


4. Teach the dog that the "come" command preludes a chase game


5. Put the dog on a leash and call him and when he doesn't come, give it a jerk (or pop or whatever you want to call a quick snap on the leash)